Last week in Parliament, in addition to asking the Prime Minister directly to scrap his ID card plans, I also led a debate on affordable housing in the South Cotswolds. It was attended by the Housing Minister, who heard directly from me about the challenges our communities face.

Across our towns and villages, from Biddestone to Barnsley and Hullavington to Hillesley, the story is the same. The need for genuinely affordable, well-maintained homes has never been greater. More than 3,600 households in Wiltshire alone are on the council’s waiting list, many families in urgent need of a secure home.

Older residents tell me they want to downsize locally, staying near friends and family, but smaller, suitable homes are few and far between. Young people who grew up here often find themselves priced out of their home area altogether. Teachers, nurses and care workers, the very people we rely on to keep our communities running struggle to afford local house or rent prices.

I rejected the last Government’s arbitrary and unattainable house-building targets in favour of securing the right kind of homes in the right places. Now this Government’s new and even higher targets risk doing harm by ignoring the realities of our area. Around 80 per cent of the Cotswold district lies within a designated National Landscape, and much of the rest is on a flood plain. You can see the problem.

Towns like Malmesbury already see their infrastructure under strain. GP surgeries are full, bus services are limited, drainage systems are ageing and broadband is unreliable. You cannot add hundreds of new homes without first ensuring these essential services can cope.

I have also urged Ministers to pause any large-scale sell-offs by housing associations such as GreenSquare Accord of their rural social homes. National housing policy must strengthen enforcement so housing associations maintain their properties properly, cut carbon emissions to make heating bills affordable, and reinvest locally in new social housing from any justified sales.

There are practical ways forward. Rural exception sites and community-led housing on land held in trust for the community can deliver small, well-designed homes for local people on the edge of our villages and market towns.

Really affordable housing is not just about numbers; it is about people, particularly our young people. By ensuring infrastructure investment comes first and building truly affordable homes in the right places, we can keep our communities together and help our towns and villages thrive for generations to come.

 
A few of the things I've done this week...

✅ My PMQ last week continues to get views – over 2.3 million on Instagram now, becoming I believe the most-viewed Instagram post ever by the Lib Dems. You may well ask, what good does that do for the good people of the South Cotswolds? And the honest answer would be, not a lot – my Stronger South Cotswolds initiative is much more meaningful to me, and hopefully will be to you over the years to come. But there is a Westminster game, with Westminster rules, and occasionally it’s good to be able to show I can play it

✅ Met up with Kids Against Plastic and the team from Nuud to campaign against plastic in chewing gum. Did you know, as well as making a horrible mess on pavements, each piece of chewing gum contains hundreds of thousands of microplastics that get released into your body as you chew? Not good!

✅ Visited the delightful farm shop and café at Abbey Home Farm to talk with the owner, Hilary Chester-Master, about the challenges facing farms and farm shops

✅ Went to the Cirencester History Festival, where I met Charlie Cooper of This Country fame, and stayed on for a fascinating event about 14th century kings with Helen Carr

✅ Dropped in at the Cotswold Menopause Fayre at the RAU

✅ Met with Minister Katie White, the new minister for climate, to discuss follow-ups from my Climate and Nature Bill. We found out that her father and my father were born in the same street in Leeds!

✅Launched a campaign to save the day surgery unit at Cirencester Hospital, which is being closed “temporarily” – but we know that temporary closures have a nasty habit of becoming permanent. We will fight this all the way

✅ Spoke in a debate about raising statutory maternity/paternity pay to match the National Living Wage

✅Attended an event to celebrate 10 Years Since Paris – as we approach COP30, we looked back to the Paris COP in 2015 to reflect on progress

✅Sponsored and spoke at the AMDEA reception to promote the circular economy and energy efficient household devices – all part of the transition to a more sustainable, less wasteful future

✅Voted against Nigel Farage’s 10 Minute Rule Bill to take the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights – with all of the adverse consequences that would entail, as explained by Sir Ed Davey yesterday in the House of Commons

 
And a reminder that you can check out sources of funding for local projects on our Stronger South Cotswolds website!

 
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Sherston Surgery Petition
 
We’re still battling to persuade the NHS to adopt a new surgery for Sherston. Local residents depend on it for essential healthcare, and losing it would be a serious blow to the community.

The Government must step in to secure the future of Sherston Surgery and ensure continued access to NHS services for the people of Sherston and surrounding areas.

Sign our petition!
 
Quote of the Week
“Home is your temple, your root, your anchor, your territory, your protection, your expression. Your home is an extension of your body and of your spirit. If you are connected to your home then you are connected to yourself.”

-- Sophie Yanacopoulos-Gross, designer and shop owner

Have a great week!! 

Roz Savage MP